Officer Attacked Me, College Student Says

DELRAY BEACH — At 18, Patrick Wesley Glover is a budding community activist and the recipient of six scholarships -- including one from the city's Police Department's Kids 'n' Cops program.

But when Glover arrived home after detailing cars on Saturday, he said his encounter with a police officer may have altered his career path.

"Ever since I was a child, I have been taught to respect police officers, which I do," said Glover, a freshman at Palm Beach Community College. "In fact, I wanted to become a police officer. But after going through this, I now have some serious reservations."

Glover told police that during the encounter, an officer forcefully grabbed his arm, pushed his chest, slammed him into his van and choked him. Officer Adam Rosenthal also searched him without permission and threatened to "slam his face on the concrete," Glover told police.

Glover was treated at Bethesda Memorial Hospital for neck and back injuries and a bruise.

Rosenthal did not respond to messages seeking comment over several days. Those messages were delivered through a supervisor, colleagues, an e-mail sent by a dispatcher, and those left with a receptionist at the police station.

However, in his arrest report, Rosenthal said the officers stopped the driver of the Ford van in which Glover was riding because they knew he had a suspended license. While his partners questioned the driver, Rosenthal said he walked up to Glover's door.

"I told him that this is a criminal traffic stop, and I needed him to remain in the car," Rosenthal wrote. "He stayed in the car, and I closed the door to the passenger side."

As he waited for the other officers, Rosenthal said, Glover "opened the door, which struck me in the chest with enough force to push me backward."

Rosenthal said he arrested Glover as he left the vehicle.

Except for Internal Affairs complaints, all of which were ruled unfounded or resulted in him being cleared by the department, Rosenthal has an impeccable record, including at least 18 commendations.

In one evaluation, a supervisor said he "is an extremely safety conscious officer who projects a strong, confident command presence."

"Officer Rosenthal is a martial arts expert, member of the SWAT Team, and follows a regular physical fitness program," Sgt. John Battiloro wrote in his most recent evaluation.

But Rosenthal's written account of Saturday's incident is contrary to accounts given by Glover and at least three neighborhood residents who witnessed the incident.

Glover filed a complaint against Rosenthal shortly after the incident, police said.

Glover told police the was a passenger in a van that had pulled into his driveway on Southwest Seventh Avenue.

An unmarked Chevy Suburban, occupied by Rosenthal and two other officers from the Police Department's West Atlantic Task Force, drove up and stopped behind them, Glover said. The task force was created to focus on crime on the West Atlantic Avenue corridor.

"By the time I exited my van, an officer was already at my door," Glover said. "I asked him what the problem was, and he said, `Just step back inside the van,' which I did."

He said he left the van minutes later to see why officers were questioning the driver. Rosenthal "grabbed my left arm with force, pushed me in my chest and said, `Stay in the van,'" Glover said.

Glover said he asked Rosenthal if he was under arrest; he was told he was not.

"Since I was not under arrest, I was free to go. I got out of the van, [then] he slammed me in the van and started choking me," Glover said.

Sandra Brown, who lives next door, said she could not hear the discussion between the two but saw Rosenthal grab Glover and push him in the van.

"The next think I know, the police knocked him down in the van," said Brown, a school bus driver.

James Dildy, who lives across the street from Glover, said he was cutting his lawn when he saw the van pull into Glover's driveway. Moments later, he saw the officers' Suburban pull up.

"[Rosenthal] jumped out and rushed around to the passenger side and I said to myself, why is he running around there like that?" Dildy said. Another neighbor, Franklin Smith, said he videotaped what he could see from his vantage point, including what he said was Rosenthal holding Glover in a choke hold.

Glover said Rosenthal pulled him out of the van, pushed him against a car and handcuffed him. While he was handcuffed, he said, the officer searched his pockets, removed $40, balled it up and put it back in Glover's pocket.

"They also searched and ransacked my van without my permission and still haven't told me why," he said.

As Rosenthal led him to the Suburban, Glover said, the officer told him he was going to the Palm Beach County Jail on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer.

Glover said he then told Rosenthal that he had met with the mayor on several occasions, that he was a recipient of a Kids 'n' Cops scholarship and that he frequently attends City Commission meetings.